Stabilized truck



May 29, 1956 D. s. CAMPBELL Filed sept. 5' 1952 l i lll/lll/ IN VENToR 'lll/Im VIII/Ill United States Patent STABILIZED TRUCK David S. Campbell, Glen Ellyn, Ill., assignor to Cardwell Westinghouse Company, a corporation of Delaware Application September 5, 1952, Serial No. 308,082

7 Claims. (Cl. 10S-197) This invention relates to railroad car trucks, and has for its principal object to provide friction shoes between the bolster and the side frame urged against both by elastic pressure. Generally speaking, this is accomplished by mounting oppositely arranged shoes in the bolster against the columns of the side frame and urging them to position by pressure applied to an elastic body, such as a rubber composition.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear as the description is read in connection with the drawings, in which Fig. l is a side elevation of a truck embodying the invention with parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the friction shoes and associated parts displaced; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of one of the friction shoes.

But these drawings and the corresponding description are used for the purpose of illustrative disclosure only, and are not intended to impose unnecessary limitations on the claims.

The side frame of the truck includes a compression member 10, a tension member 11, and spaced columns 12 defining a bolster window opening 13 receiving the end portion of a bolster 14 resiliently supported on a set of truck springs 15.

The columns 12 are provided with steel wear plates 16 case-hardened and welded in place.

The friction shoes are housed within pockets 17 in the end portion of the bolster having horizontal upper and lower walls 18 and vertical side walls 19, and terminating at a web 20 on the center line of the bolster provided with spring seats 21.

As contemplated by this invention, the friction between the bolster and the wear plates 16 on the column is provided by a plurality of friction shoes 22, here shown as four in number of rectangular form, each having a friction face 23 for contact with the wear plates 16, and horizontal and vertical faces 24 and 25 for contact with the corresponding walls 18 and 19 of the pockets 17 in the bolster.

The shoes 22 are constantly urged into position against the wear plates 16 and the walls of the pockets 17 by blocks 26 of rubber composition backed up by follower plates 27 and helical springs 28 compressed between the follower plates and the spring seats 21 and the web 20.

In assembling, the springs 23 will be precompressed and assembly pins (not shown) inserted through openings 30 in the friction shoes and 29 in the walls 19 of the bolster pockets to hold the friction shoes in retracted position while the bolster is inserted through the lower portion of the window opening 13 and raised to position between the wear plates 16 and the spring 15 placed beneath it,

The friction shoes 24 are preferably of forged steel hardened and in a form that has been found satisfactory. They are made of Va" steel 21A" X 21A" in size.

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The rubber composition 26 fits the assembled sets of friction shoes substantially as shown and transmits the pressure of the spring 28 substantially equally in all directions, so that the friction shoes are urged against the wear plates 16 and against the walls of the pockets 17 in the bolster with balanced pressure throughout a long period of useful service.

This arrangement prevents any substantial movement of the shoes with respect to the associated surfaces, and thereby prevents hammering that has heretofore proved to be destructive in prior devices.

A rubber composition of a durometer hardness on the order of 58 to 60 is satisfactory.

I claim:

l. In a railroad car truck, a side frame including spaced columns, a spring supported bolster between said columns having opposed pockets opening toward said columns and each defined by upper, lower, and side walls, an assembly of friction shoes in each of said pockets having surfaces bearing on one of said columns and on each of the walls of said pocket, a rubber-like block bearing against said shoes and urging said surfaces thereof against said column and each of said walls with balanced pressure, and re` silient means compressed between a portion of the bolster and the block to urge the latter against the shoes.

2. In a railroad car track, a side frame including spaced columns, a spring supported bolster between said columns having opposed pockets opening toward said columns and each defined by spaced upper and lower horizontal walls and spaced vertical side walls, an assembly of fric tion shoes in each of said pockets each shoe having a vertical friction face bearing on one of said colunms,

a second vertical face bearing on a side wall of the pocket, and a horizontal face bearing on a horizontal wall of the pocket, a rubber-like block bearing against said shoes and urging said faces against said column and pocket Walls with balanced pressure, and resilient means compressed between a portion of the bolster and the block to urge the latter against the shoes.

3. The combination claimed in claim 2, in which each assembly comprises a pair of shoes with a horizontal face of one shoe bearing on the upper horizontal wall of the pocket and a horizontal face of the other shoe bearing on the lower horizontal wall of the pocket.

4. The combination claimed in claim 2, in which each assembly comprises an upper pair of shoes and a lower pair of shoes, with a horizontal face of each of the upper pair bearing on the upper horizontal wall of the pocket and a horizontal face of each of the lower pair bearing on the lower horizontal wall of the pocket.

5. In a railroad car truck, a side frame including spaced columns, a spring supported bolster between said columns, said bolster having a pocket opening toward one of said columns and defined by side wall means and an intermediate bolster wall, an assemblage of friction shoes in said pocket each having a friction surface bearing on said one column and a side friction surface normal to the first mentioned friction surface and complemental to the side wall means of the pocket, spring means in said pocket reacting against said intermediate74V bolster wall and urging said assemblage of friction shoes into engagement with said one column, and spring-like means interposed between the first named spring means and the shoe assemblage urging the side surfaces of said friction shoes laterally into frictional engagement with the side wall means of the pocket.

6. In a railroad car truck, a side frame including said spaced columns, a spring supported bolster between said columns, said bolster having a pocket opening toward one of said columns and defined by side wall means and an intermediate bolster wall, an assemblage of friction shoes in said pocket each having a friction a s surface 'bearing on said one column and a side friction surface Ynormal to the irst mentioned yfriction surface and complemental to the side wall means of the pocket, spring means in said pocket `reacting againstY said intermediate bolster Wall and urging vsaid assemblage of Y friction's'hoes into engagement withrsaid one column, Vand spring-like means interposed between Vtherst named spring means and lthe shoe assemblage urgingthe side surfaces of said friction shoes laterally into frictional engagement Ywith the side walls means of the pocket, said spring-like means comprising av rubberflike block housed within said friction `shoe assemblage and exerting aY lateral pressure on said'shoes in response to the pressure exerted by said first named spring means.

, Y .7.A In a railroad car truck, aside frame including spaced columns, a spring supported bolster between said co1- umns, said bolster having a pocket opening toward one of said columns and dened byside wall means and an intermediate bolster lWall, an assemblage of friction shoes in ysaid pocket each comprising a front wall portion of constant thickness bearing on said one column and a side wall portion of constant thickness normal to therfront wall surface and complemental to the side wall means of the pocket, a rubberlike block housed within said friction shoe assemblage, and spring means compressed between said block and said intermediate wall such that said block `:transmits pressure substantially equally in all directions to urge said shoes into frictional engagement With said -one column and said side wall means.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,520,845 Lehrman s Aug. 29, 1950 2,551,064 spenner May 1, i951 2,578,480 Lehrman Dec, 1l, 1951 2,624,291 Settles Jan. 6, 1953 2,667,845 Maatman 'et al Feb. 2, 1954 

